


Coffee Bliss

by That_Ginger_004



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Artist Merlin, Barista Arthur, But like low-key angst, Coffee Shops, Cute, Happy Ending, M/M, Probably more angst, fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 14:15:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8670724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_Ginger_004/pseuds/That_Ginger_004
Summary: 'There’s a new guy at the counter.Merlin repeats: there’s a new guy at the counter.He’s got a type of silent, brooding thing going on, but his eyes are as brighter than the morning sky. His blonde hair is fine, sitting on his head in a silken wave, and Merlin can see the edge of a tattoo peeking out from under his collar.It’s really working for him.'In which Merlin is an artist, Arthur is a barista, and Guinevere's coffee is full of pretty people.





	

They found _Guinevere’s_ almost completely by accident.

 

Merlin and Will had been on their way to the local Starbucks to do some work when the rain started. Working in their flat was like some sort of slow torture; their hyperactive brains distracting them from even attempting when they were in the same room as their consoles. Besides, Starbucks was warm, and the coffee was decent, if overpriced, and the wifi was better than at their dorm, so...

 

They weren’t even halfway there yet, and being the sensible students they were, they’d forgotten to pack anything that even resembled a raincoat. This wasn’t rain that you could ignore either, like the light splattering of springtime showers. No, this was the type of rain that promised thunderstorms and flooding.

 

Spotting a nearby awning, Merlin pulls Will under it, which coincidentally turns out to be the entrance to some sort of cafe. The word _Guinevere’s_ is elegantly inscribed in the glass on the door, above a sign that proclaimed their free wifi. Merlin and Will exchange glances - _dude, are you thinking what I’m thinking? Duh, bro, of course I’m thinking what you’re thinking -_ then, taking it as a sign from above, they stumble inside before they, like. Drown, or something.

 

The cafe is instantly, blessedly warm. The smell of coffee wafts through the air, warming Merlin’s soul to its core. Sighing with content, they instinctively scope out the best seats with power sockets nearby and went to claim it as their own. The cafe has a sort of homey, mismatched feel to it, the tables and chairs all different, but somehow matching. Squishy armchairs are dotted around the room, and a crackling fireplace sits opposite the counter.

 

Merlin sends Will a pleading glance, his eyes beseeching him to say yes.

 

“No,” Will says sternly, before glancing around and sighing. “Okay, okay. Maybe. But let’s see how their coffee is first, before we make any commitments,”

 

“Our coffee is brilliant,” a scary-intense looking woman calls from behind the counter. Her name tag reads ‘ANGEL’ in neat block letters, with a golden halo drawn at an angle on top. Merlin wishes that it was her real name.

 

She’s probably the most beautiful person he’s ever seen, with sparkling brown eyes, and bouncy black hair. If he was interested in girls, Merlin would probably be too intimidated to talk to her - as he observes in Will, who is, in fact, interested enough for the both of them. He watches his friend flush a blotchy red, the colour spreading down his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he tries to form coherent syllables.

 

“What would you recommend? Merlin asks, taking pity on Will’s inability to speak actual human words.

 

“Well that really depends on what you’re here for,” the girl smiles, and pulls two mugs out from under the counter. The mugs, like the rest of the decor, don’t match, but are disarmingly charming. One of them has all the Avenger’s logos on it, and the other bears a turtle wearing a hat. Merlin falls a little bit in love, and when he turns to Will, he can practically see the shackles tying him to Starbucks splintering.  “Do you actually want coffee, or did you prefer tea?”

 

***

 

The coffee, it turns out, is brilliant. Better than Starbucks could ever dream of. The wifi is fast, and they don’t have to pay for it, and when he tries one of the many slices in the cabinet, Merlin legitimately thinks that it could be the best thing he’s ever eaten in his entire life.

 

It kind of just makes sense that they stay, after that.

 

***

 

Merlin met Will when they were both in year nine. From his primary school, there were exactly eleven other students who were going to the same college as him. One of those students was his friend. On their first day of college, however, his friend promptly ditched him to go and bother his older brother - such was the way of the thirteen-year-old.

 

He spent much of the first few weeks of college alone, sketching in his form class when bored. Then, one such time, when he was sketching a particularly detailed portrait of Captain America, another boy plopped down beside him.

 

“That’s really good,” the other boy had said matter of factly.

 

“Thanks, it’s what I’m gonna do when I’m older,” Merlin blurted with all the confidence of his age.

 

“That’s awesome! I think I might be a lawyer maybe, or a police officer, but I don’t really know for sure. My name’s Will, what’s yours?” Will responded with an easy grin.

 

“Merlin,” he’d said, and the rest, as they say, was history.

 

Merlin had never really had such a close friend before - but that was okay. He thought that perhaps he was just waiting for Will to turn up.

 

***  


It turns out that the barista's name is actually Guinevere - as in the name of the shop. The shop was her parents pride and joy, and when they died it was passed down to her and her older brother - although the shop is more loved by her brother. She’s only a year older than Merlin and Will, and goes to the local uni, and Merlin thinks that she might be the coolest person he’s ever met.

 

There’s no one else working in the cafe that they can see, and it is pretty dead - between the wind threatening to blow small children away, and the rain tipping down outside, they reckon that anyone with half a brain would be inside keeping warm.

 

Merlin and Will pretend not to watch her as she moves around making a drink for herself. Watching people without really watching them is a talent of Merlin’s - as an artist, he’s picked up some pretty weird skills - so it isn’t a surprise to see her walking over to their table.

 

“Do you guys mind if I sit with you for a while? This shift is always pretty dead, and on a day like today…” she collapses into a chair at their table.

 

“Go ahead,” Merlin smiles.

 

Will, once again, seems to have gone mute, which actually is probably a good thing. If he could talk, he’d probably say something stupid and scare her off so. Gwen seems like an easy person to talk to though, so Merlin’s reasonably certain that he can handle this conversation.

 

And - yeah, he was right. Gwen’s awesome, and they quickly bond over their shared love for art. He finds out that Gwen’s only studying to be a Veterinarian because her father and brother both argued strongly against her getting a massive student loan for something she didn’t really need a degree for, which - fair point, actually.

 

“Still - these are really good. You’re talented,” Gwen says, flipping through Merlin’s sketchbook.

 

“Thanks,” Merlin smiles. “Oh! That one’s my favourite,” he stops the page from turning.

 

The image is of Merlin and Will, copied from a photograph. In it, they’re both laughing, heads tilted up, smiles evident on both their faces. Merlin had drawn it just before he’d come out to Will, so he’d always have something to remember their friendship by in case things went sour.

 

“Of course it is,” Will mutters from his seat.

 

He keeps on shooting Merlin incredulous looks like - _dude how did we trick this freaking supermodel of a girl into thinking we’re cool?_ Merlin has no idea, but he’s not complaining.

 

By the time they leave, Gwen has well and truly worked her way into their lives. Will had managed to actually contribute a sufficient amount to the conversation, without accidentally offending anyone. Gwen makes them promise to come back before she lets them leave, and - it’s nice, having someone that isn’t them wanting them to come back. Merlin thinks that they might just have found somewhere that they could return to after anything.

 

Well. A place that isn’t each other.

 

***

 

So the thing about _Guinevere’s_ is that everyone who works there seems to be unfairly attractive. They’ve come up with a theory that they only hire perfect tens.

 

There’s Gwen, obviously, but there’s also Lance, the other barista that works there full time. With his dark curls and eyes, he’s probably one of the most stunning men Merlin’s ever seen.

 

“Bro, his cheekbones could probably cut glass. That’s so unfair,” Will murmurs to him one day. Merlin gives him a strange look, to which Will rolls his eyes and promptly responds, “Just cause I’m not gay, doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate a good-looking man when I see one. It’s not like you don’t appreciate Gwen’s looks on a regular basis.”

 

Which - yeah. That’s actually a really good point.

 

There’s Morgana, who’s intimidatingly pretty, with long black hair and piercing blue eyes. She’s quick witted and sharp tongued, and her ambition is sky-high; the very embodiment of a perfect Slytherin.

 

Morgana only works when one of the others can’t make it, but she’s there more often than not anyway.

 

Then there’s Elyan. He’s Gwen’s brother - the cafe is his passion, so he spends most of his time in the kitchen. He looks like he’d be more in place on a runway than in a kitchen, with smooth skin, and deep, kind eyes. His silence had completely terrified Merlin and Will when they’d first met him, but he’d just nodded and offered them a free custard square.

 

Merlin isn’t usually big on custard squares, but this was like some type of religious experience. Will had groaned slightly, and Merlin muttered something about never eating anything else again, and Elyan had graced them with the tiniest of smiles before retreating back into the kitchen.

 

Gwen looked relieved. Merlin wondered what would have happened if they didn’t like the custard squares.

 

The other regulars to the cafe are also ridiculously attractive, which is profoundly unfair. There’s a string of pretty girls - and quite a few pretty boys - that come in to swoon over Lance; there’s a brunette girl who comes in, sits in a corner and has quiet conversations with Gwen over tea; there’s Gwaine, an engineering student, who comes and sits behind piles of books and dirty mugs, and Percival, a teacher with arms the size of Merlin’s entire body, who alternates between grading papers and staring wistfully at Gwaine.

 

“We’re the worst looking people in this cafe.” Merlin laments after a week of being there and staring at pretty people eating pastries.

 

Then he looks at Will , and not for the first time realises how nice he is to actually look at, all sharp angles and freckles and brown hair. He’s attractive in a careless way, the kind of person that just gets more and more attractive the longer you look at them. Merlin sighs, and adapts his previous statement - _‘I’m the worst looking person in this cafe.’_

 

“That’s okay. I’m okay with being unattractive if it means we can be surrounded by attractive people all the time,” Will shrugs.

 

It’s one of those weird statements that probably shouldn’t be comforting but is - even if it only makes sense to them.

 

***

 

Merlin has plans, okay?

 

When they finished college, Will went off to police college, got a job at the local station, and Merlin…

 

Well.

 

He went to uni, got a BA with a major in Art History, then booked a spot at a tiny studio by their apartment. He was good, and he knew that he had what it took to be really good, but he just needed to be noticed. There was only so much he could do through a blog.

 

In most ways, this was the hardest part.

 

“If I could just get a place at an exhibition or something…” Merlin trails off.

 

Will had heard the rant about a thousand times already, but he was still patient.

 

“You’ll get there,” Will patted his shoulder.

 

“A foot in the door, that’s all I need,” Merlin says earnestly, pencil clutched in his hand. “Maybe I should start a new series,”

 

“Good idea,” Will says absently, staring off at Gwen and Lance working.

 

Merlin follows his gaze to Gwen. She’s leaning over a mug, trying to do some new form of latte art - a flower, or leaf, or something. Her tongue is sticking out, and her brow is furrowed in concentration, and it’s kind of adorable. Merlin’s apparently not the only one who thinks so either - Lance is frozen where he is, paused in the middle of wiping a spill. He’s staring at Gwen with something akin to longing in his eyes, watching for only a few careful seconds before moving on. Gwen turns to say something to him - but then she pauses, watches him for a few moments, the same intense expression on her face.

 

Huh. Interesting.

 

Merlin feels his fingers twitch, and he scrambles for a pencil.

 

“Dude, chill,” Will says, looking at him bizarrely. “It’s not going anywhere,”

 

“How did I not see this earlier? Actually, why did I not think this earlier?” Merlin mutters, sketching furiously.

 

“What? What’s happening?” Will actually sounds slightly concerned.

 

“Look,” Merlin nods towards the counter.

 

Will looks, and…. Yup. There it was. He’d seen it.

 

“Bro,” he whispers.

 

“Yeah,” Merlin whispers back.

 

“Oh my god,” Will grabs his arm.

 

“And Gwaine and Percival too, look,” Merlin grins, and starts sketching again. “I should just do a series on _Guinevere’s_ ,”

 

“You should,” Will nods.

 

“Yeah,” Merlin says. “I really should.”

 

***

 

It all just comes easy after that.

 

He goes to _Guinevere’s_ , spends a couple hours drinking coffee and sketching, then heads over to the studio to transfer to canvas, or to start painting. The finished series will consist of twelve paintings, all of them workers or regulars at _Guinevere’s._ Some of them will be small, and others large, and they’ll all be painted in the same warm, golden tones.

 

Sketching the people at _Guinevere’s_ comes easy - they’re all incredibly easy to look at, and incredibly interesting to draw. There’s such a large variety as well - Gwen, with her dark skin and curly hair; Lance, with his roguish good looks and strong expressions; Morgana, with her wild, wild hair, and stormy features; Elyan, with his kind eyes and pastries. Gwaine has his books and mugs, and Percival has his papers. The nameless girl Gwen talks to, her eye makeup so dark it could be war-paint.

 

Merlin loves it.

 

He figures that he should probably tell them at some point, but he doesn’t want them to get mad at him. He just wants to have this thing for a while, this thing that’s completely and irrevocably his.

 

Will comes and watches him sketch sometimes, when he’s not working. It’s nice, the two of them there. Since they stumbled into _Guinevere’s_ for the first time, it feels like they haven’t really had much time where it’s just them. Not like they used to. This, however. This is nice.

 

It takes him two and a half months to finish all the sketches and have them transferred to canvas. Ten of the paintings are finished, and the last two well under way. Merlin’s planning on scanning them into some of the owners of the local galleries once they’re finished, and he knows in his heart of hearts that they’re good enough to be shown.

 

He just has to finish first.

 

***

 

There’s a new guy at the counter.

 

Merlin repeats: _there’s a new guy at the counter._

 

Gwen’s not there - it’s her usual shift, but she’s conspicuously absent. Merlin knows it’s her shift because every Tuesday for the last month he would come in for a coffee, then sit at the closest table and work on his art. Gwen would come and top off his coffee when it ran out, and when she went on her break, she would come and sit with him and they would talk about various artworks. It was fun.

 

Today though - today, she’s not here. The guy standing behind the counter is most definitely not Gwen. He’s got a type of silent, brooding thing going on, but his eyes are as brighter than the morning sky. His blonde hair is fine, sitting on his head in a silken wave, and Merlin can see the edge of a tattoo peeking out from under his collar.

 

It’s really working for him.

 

“What can I get you?” the guy asks, raising an eyebrow at Merlin.

 

“Uh. Yeah,” Merlin stutters, stumbling to a stop before he can say something stupid like _‘a ring’._ “Gwen?”

 

Which - yeah. That’s not too much better, really.

 

“She’s off sick,” the guy says, looking surprised - and it’s ridiculous how attractive Merlin finds it.

 

“Oh. Is this your first shift?” Merlin asks, and reading the guy's face, he can tell that it is. “I just haven’t seen you around before… and I come here a lot, so,”

 

“It is. Morgana’s my sister, she got me a job here - but don’t worry, I’ve worked at a coffee house before, so your coffee won’t suck,” the guy says, seeming to take Merlin’s comment as a challenge. It wasn’t meant as one, but damn if this guy isn’t taking it literally. He’s actually rolling up his sleeves, something that is really doing _things_ to Merlin, and _God, okay, he needs to stop, now._

 

“Okay. Alright,” Merlin thinks for a moment, then leans forward onto the counter. “So, don’t get me wrong, Gwen and Lance are great and all, but they both suck at making chai tea lattes. Think you can do better?”

 

“I know I can do better,” the guy smirks - it’s a good look - and pulls a mug out from under the counter. “This latte’s going to blow your mind.”

 

(It’s not the latte that blow’s Merlin’s mind.)

 

***

 

The latte, it turns out, is pretty damn good. Merlin might be a little bit in love.

 

Elyan eventually gets around to giving the new guy a name tag, so he finds out his name - or at least, part of it - is Pendragon. Morgana tells him that he’d transferred from another university, and that he’s halfway through getting Masters in writing. She tells Merlin that he wants to be a journalist, and that she she could tell him more, but her elusive brother wishes to stay that way.  

 

Merlin’s a bit disappointed, honestly. Morgana gives no indication on whether or not Pendragon’s gay, or bi, or anything else other than straight, and Merlin doesn’t ask. He’s pretty sure that at this point everyone working at _Guinevere’s_ knows about his sexuality, but he hasn’t explicitly told anyone, and he doesn’t want to assume. He just figures that if they want to know, they’ll ask, and then he’ll tell them. Besides, what business is it of theirs what gender Merlin likes?

 

The only people he’s ever explicitly come out to are his mother and Will . His mother hadn’t cared much, thank God, something that was so relieving to him at the time that he started crying. She’d just looked at him for a moment, fondness explicit in her eyes, then scooped him up in a massive hug. Will had just shrugged, and said that from the way Merlin had been waxing poetic about Chris Evans’ shoulders after The Avengers came out, it was fairly obvious.

 

“Yeah,” Merlin had sighed. “Chris Evans has great shoulders…”

 

“Yes, Merlin. I know. We’ve been through this,” Will had looked at him seriously. “You know I don’t care about any of this, right? You’re my best friend,”

 

Merlin had teared up a little bit, and they’d spent the rest of the night hugging and crying and repeatedly saying “I love you, man!” and “No, I love _you_ , man!”

 

It was a bonding experience for the both of them.

 

The point was, though, that Merlin, having never really told anyone about his sexuality, wasn’t really sure how to ask about someone else's. He wasn’t even sure if he _should_ ask. What if Pendragon wasn’t gay, and took offence?

 

What if he was?

 

***

 

Merlin spends the next few weeks sketching picture upon picture of Pendragon. He finds out a lot of things about him while he does so as well - his first name is Arthur, though almost nobody ever calls him that. Once, Will called him Arthur from across the room, then spent the next two days convinced that Pendragon was going to kill him. It was pretty funny. Will’s not too sure why though, as the one time he called him Arthur by accident, his eyes had gotten all soft and crinkly, and the way Pendragon smiled at him had him convinced that he’d never call him anything else again.

 

It was so cute Merlin had spilt his latte all over the counter, then flushed a bright pink when Arthur had just laughed and made him a new one.

 

Arthur wears combat boots and leather jackets, and has an earring in his left ear.. He rides a motorbike to _Guinevere’s_ most days, all sleek black metal. Merlin loves drawing him next to Gwen, their two aesthetics so completely opposite it’s incredible. Arthur is kind, and attractive, and he makes good coffee, and _damn_ Merlin is in so deep.

 

“He could be gay. You never know,” Will says one day, hunched over their table.

 

“Yeah, right,” Merlin scowls, looking at the way Arthur is talking to a female customer. Arthur sees him looking and smiles over at him, sending a small wave their way. “I’m gonna be so alone,”

 

“Aww, that’s okay dude, you can always come and live with me in my attic, okay? I’ll even get you a blanket so you can be all cosy and warm,” Will pulls Arthur in, ruffling his hair.

 

“Get off!” Merlin says, shoving Will’s arm off him, but he’s laughing, so the effect is somewhat ruined.

 

Will just grins back, then steals the last bite of Merlin’s custard square.

 

“Hey!” Merlin protests, looking around indignantly.

 

He catches sight of Arthur again, but this time the other man refuses to catch his eye, and is instead polishing a glass so furiously, Merlin starts to worry about the _glass._ Arthur looks for all the world like he wants to smash it instead of place it gently under the counter, and it’s kind of scary. Merlin pretends that it doesn’t bother him that Arthur won’t look his way.

 

“Seriously though, I reckon you have a serious shot,” Will says, oblivious to the way Arthur is suddenly avoiding Merlin like the plague. “He actually looks like he enjoys talking to you. It’s incredible,”

 

“Sure,” Merlin snorts. “He gets on with you, Gwen and Lance just fine,”

 

Will barks out a laugh. “Dude, he looks at me like I’ve killed his entire family all the time. I don’t think he’s smiled at me once since he’s been here,”

 

“Don’t be stupid, he smiles all the time,” Merlin says dismissively.

 

“He smiles at _you_ all the time,” Will says, hitting Merlin’s arm slightly, before going back to his coffee, and ignoring the fact that he’s completely just shattered Merlin’s _entire world._

 

***

 

It was early.

 

Merlin had spent the night finishing off his series, painting the final image of Gwen, Lance and now Arthur behind the counter. Gwen was laughing, Lance looking fondly at her, and Arthur in the midst of pouring a coffee. He’s quite proud of it, honestly. All he has to do now is scan them into the gallery owners.

 

But first, coffee.

 

He’s been up for most of the night working, after the owner of the small studio left him the keys to lock up. He must have fallen asleep at some point - he’d woken up about twenty minutes ago, plastered to a desk, paintbrush still in his hand. It was safe to say, his first priority at this point was getting some decent coffee - so naturally, he heads to _Guinevere's_.

 

He doesn’t even think they’re open yet, but Arthur must see him pawing pathetically at the door, and pauses in setting up to go and let him in, a casual smirk on his face.

 

“You look like death warmed up,” Arthur says, his voice fond. “You alright?”

 

Merlin loses his words for a second at the sound of Arthur’ voice, warm and gravelly from sleep still. “I just need coffee. Like a big coffee. The biggest. Scratch that - all of the coffee you have. I need it,”

 

“Okay okay, calm down. Gimme a sec,” Arthur shoots him a grin, and - Merlin doesn’t need coffee, he needs a shot of tequila.

 

Arthur turns and gets a giant flask out from the kitchen, larger than _Guinevere's_ usual to go cups, drying it with a towel on his way out. Merlin watches as he fills it with coffee, fascinated with the way his hands make the motions almost on instinct. It’s an art form in itself, really.

 

“Here,” Arthur hands the flask to Merlin.

 

Their fingers brush as Merlin takes it, sending chills down Merlin’s spine.

 

“Big enough for you?” Arthur quirks an eyebrow - and if he were anyone else, Merlin would think that he was flirting.

 

“Uh, yeah,” Merlin’s voice is nearly an octave higher than usual when he answers. “Thanks, Arthur,”

 

It’s almost seven hours later that he notices the name on the bottom - neat letters proclaiming the flask as belonging to a _‘A. Pendragon’_. It shouldn’t feel like a big issue, but - it really does.

 

He stares at the flask for a long, long time.

 

***

 

Merlin had sent copies of his work to several of the local gallery owners, so now all he had to do was wait. He hadn’t wanted to upload them to his blog in case he got accepted by a gallery owner who had strict copyright, but it was a close thing. The main thing he wanted to do was show everyone at _Guinevere's,_ but he didn’t want to risk anything just yet.

 

So yeah. Now he just had to wait.

 

He goes to _Guinevere's_ and gets coffee, talks to Gwen and Arthur, hangs out with Will, sketches random people he sees. It’s entertaining enough, but he misses having something to do every day. He misses having a _purpose._

 

It’s three weeks later when he gets the email.

 

***

 

_Dear Mister Emrys,_

 

 _We’re delighted to inform you that your series_ ‘Coffee Bliss’ _has been accepted into our new exhibition. The opening night is on the 21st of October of this year, and we would love for you to attend. Please find attached tickets for you and a plus one. Additional tickets will cost $20 each._

 

_Kind Regards,_

 

_Blue Stone Gallery._

 

***

 

“Dude, dude, dude, dude dude dude dude dude!” Merlin jumps on Will, shaking his shoulder before grabbing him in a giant bear hug.

 

Will hates bear hugs.

 

“Bro, get off!” Will pushes him off his bed.

 

Merlin jumps back on, and hugs him again. “I got in!” he chants, “I got in, I got in, I got in!”

 

“Where? What?” Will rubs his eyes, then sits up.

 

“Blue Stone Gallery! They put me in their new exhibition!” Merlin grins wildly.

 

“Oh my God, dude, that’s awesome!” Will grins back, thumping his arm.

 

“Yeah! They gave me two tickets to their opening night, do you wanna come?”

 

“Yeah, bro! That’s so cool, you’re all professional and stuff now,” Will teases. “When’s the opening?”

 

“The twenty-first,” Merlin smiles happily. “Hey, I’m gonna head over to _Guinevere's,_ I think I might tell Arthur and Gwen,”

 

“Okay, have fun,” Will says. “Tell them I say hi,”

 

“Will do,” Merlin stands up, and all but floats out of the room he’s so happy.

 

It seems like things are finally heading up.

 

***

 

“You. Did. What?” Gwen asks, and Merlin can all but see the steam coming out of her ears.

 

“I uh. Did a series on _Guinevere's._ It got accepted into Blue Stone Gallery’s new exhibition,” Merlin says, slightly less enthusiastically.

 

“And you didn’t think to, you know, ask any of us first?” she says, glaring at him.

 

“I thought it would be better if you didn’t know… more natural,” Merlin explains, then immediately regrets it.

 

“Oh so that just makes it okay for you to invade our privacy like this,” Gwen snaps, and if Merlin wasn’t already scared out if his mind, he was now.

 

“Uhhh,” he croaks, then looks to Arthur and Lance standing just behind her.

 

Lance just shrugs at him, expression apologetic. Arthur avoids his eye for a second, then sighs and rubs a weary hand over his eyes.

 

“Gwen,” Arthur says, touching her shoulder. “Don’t you think he has a point? You’re an artist too, can’t you see where he’s coming from?”

 

“That - ugh! Stop trying to reason with me!” Gwen wheels around to him.

 

‘Thank you’ Merlin mouths to Arthur, who grimaces in response.

 

“Merlin’s our friend, we should be happy for him,” Arthur continues. “You of all people should know how hard it is for an artist to make it,”

 

“I’m sorry, Gwen,” Merlin says softly. “I just didn’t want to risk our friendship,”

 

“You should have thought of that earlier,” she whispers back, then turns and walks off.

 

Merlin stares after her sadly. “This is why I didn’t want to tell anyone,” he mutters.

 

“Sorry man. She’ll come round,” Arthur leans over the counter and pats Merlin’s shoulder sympathetically. “I think it’s awesome though. Congratulations,”

 

“Thanks,” Merlin smiles. “I should probably go though… I’ll see you tomorrow maybe,” he turns and heads for the door.

 

“Don’t be a stranger!” Arthur calls after him.

 

Merlin waves in acknowledgement, then leaves the cafe.

 

He tries to ignore the thought that tells him that what he’s leaving behind is irreparable.

 

***

 

“Hey, Merlin…” Will says, eyes pleading.

 

“What is it?” Merlin sighs, rolling over.

 

He’d been lying on his bed, face down, sulking after what happened at _Guinevere's_.

 

“Hypothetically…” Will trails off sheepishly. “What would you say if I couldn’t make it to the opening night?” he rushes out.

 

Merlin groans dramatically, then buries his face back into his pillow.

 

“Oh no. What happened?” Will sits down and pats Merlin’s shoulder.

 

“Gwen’s mad at me,” he mumbles.

 

“Why?” Will sounds surprised.

 

“Paintings,” Merlin grunts.

 

“Oh. I’m sorry,”

 

Merlin groans again. “Wait. Did you just say that you can’t make the opening night?” he looks up suddenly.

 

“Yeah…” Will scratches his neck. “I’m really really sorry, there’s a work thing I can’t miss,”

 

Merlin just sighs. “What happened? Everything was going so well,”

 

Will rubs Merlin’s shoulder.

 

“It’ll be fine,” Will says again.

 

Merlin mumbles something ineligible, then faceplants back into his pillow.

 

Here is safe.

 

Here is good.

 

***

  


Will had gone out to his event a while ago, leaving Merlin where he was, sitting on the couch and making him promise to eat something before he fell asleep. He’s wearing his oldest, comfiest clothes, binge watching Parks and Rec, wallowing in his feelings. The opening night of the gallery starts in half an hour, and Merlin’s planning on spending the whole evening staying right where he is.

 

It’s a solid plan.

 

A knock on the door startles him out of the show. Thinking it’s Will forgetting his keys, Merlin rolls his eyes and stands up. There’s another knock on the door, more insistent this time, and Merlin’s just saying, “Hold on, dude, I’m coming!” when he opens the door, and --

 

It’s not Will.

 

Arthur is standing on the other side of the door, wearing a suit and a smile.

 

“You ready?” Arthur asks.

 

“What?” Merlin asks, confused.

 

“... For the opening?” Arthur elaborates.

 

“I --” Merlin stops. Frowns. “I wasn’t gonna go,” he admits.

 

“What?” now it’s Arthur’ turn to be confused.

 

“Will has this work thing, and Gwen’s mad at me, and it just doesn’t really feel like something I’m supposed to be celebrating right now,” Merlin explains.

 

He’s still confused as why Arthur is here - but looking as good as he does in that suit, Merlin’s not going to start complaining any time soon.

 

“Will… what? I’m confused,” Arthur scratches his head.

 

Merlin sighs. “Do you wanna come in?”

 

Arthur nods, and they move to the couch, Merlin curling back into the ball he was in not moments before.

 

“I don’t wanna be rude or anything, and I’m not really complaining - but why are you here?” Merlin asks Arthur.

 

“Will came down to _Guinevere's_ earlier. He said that something came up, but did I want to go to your opening tonight? And I thought, yeah, that sounds like it could be fun, then he gave me the time, and your address, and said that you’d see me then,” Arthur says slowly.

 

Merlin exhales. “Of course he did. I uh. Wasn’t planning on going,”

 

“Yeah, I realise that now,” Arthur grins easily. “So what were you planning on doing?”

 

 _Crying,_ Merlin thinks. “I was just gonna rewatch Parks and Rec,” he says instead.

 

“Okay. Mind if I join?” Arthur asks.

 

Merlin looks at him and nods, perhaps a bit too fast. Arthur smiles again, and toes off his shoes so he can nestle into the couch. Merlin hits play, and tries not to watch Arthur too much. It’s not working too well for him. They watch for a while, then Arthur shucks off his his jacket and loosens his tie. Merlin’s mouth dries out, and his breath catches in his throat at the sight of Arthur’ tight white shirt.

 

“Like what you see?” Arthur teases, noticing Merlin’s stare.

 

Merlin flushes and looks away.

 

“Hey,” Arthur says, suddenly gentle. Merlin looks up, and sees that Arthur has shifted so he’s right in front of him. “It’s okay,”

 

“Arthur, I…” Merlin breaks off, looks down again.

 

He feels a hand on his face and closes his eyes.

 

“Merlin,” Arthur breathes, and Merlin opens his eyes to see Arthur staring at him with such intensity that it hurts to breathe.

 

Merlin breathes out slowly, shakily, then all of a sudden Arthur’s lips are on his, and his eyes are glued closed, all of his other senses telling him that one of Arthur’s hands is in his hair, and their bodies pressed together, and Arthur’s other hand is pulling him close, closer than they’d ever been before. They break apart slowly, breathing each other’s air for a while until they’re dizzy with it.

 

“Wow,” Arthur whispers.

 

“I thought…” Merlin breaks off, then laughs a little. “I thought you were straight,”

 

Arthur chuckles, sliding his hand from Merlin’s hair to his hand, then twining their fingers together.

 

“I’m bi, so… you’re half right, I guess,” he explains. “I thought you were dating Will,”

 

“Will?” Merlin snorts. “He’s so unbelievably straight it’s not funny,”

 

“And you?” Arthur prompts.

 

Merlin presses his lips together. “I’m really, really not,”

 

“Lucky for me,” Arthur smiles, then leans in and kisses Merlin again.

 

It’s exciting, and new, and perfect.

 

So, goddamn perfect.

 

And - later, Merlin will take Arthur to the exhibition, and they’ll ooh and aah at all the paintings, and Arthur will kiss Merlin in front of his series. Later, when Gwen forgives him, Merlin will spend all his free time at _Guinevere's_ , sketching Arthur until he goes on break, then sketching him some more. Later, they’ll move in together, and get a cat, and start a life.

 

Right now though?

 

Right now, they’ve got seven seasons of Parks and Rec, and a couch, and an empty apartment.

 

And it’s pretty awesome.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Kudo's and Comment's are appreciated! :) Thanks for reading <3


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